Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
My question is:
A married couple owns a home as joint tenants in the state of Pennsylvania. The deed and mortgage is in both of their names, the promissory note is solely in the husband�s name. The husband passes away. Is the wife responsible for repayment of the full loan? I have found evidence that it may be the case that the bank would only be able to go after a half share in a foreclosure. There would be no hesitation on the part of the wife to let the house go if repayment would involve only having to pay off half of the existing mortgage. Thanks for any advice you can provide.
1 Answer from Attorneys
The wife is responsible for repaying the loan if she wants to keep the property.
How can the bank go after only 1/2 a share? The mortgage is on the whole property, not half. I don't know what "evidence" you found which purports to allow this.
If the wife does not want the property at all, then she can let the lender foreclose. The bank cannot come after her for any deficiency since she is not on the mortgage.
Whether it makes sense to allow the foreclosure or not is a different issue. It depends on what the property is worth and what is still owed. If the property has negative equity, then it might make sense to walk away. Is there only one mortgage? Can the wife do a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure? If the house has a good bit of equity, then has the wife tried to sell? She will get more if she sells than allowing the bank to foreclose.
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